


Blood in the Water

by XDTAthens



Category: Darkest Dungeon (Video Game)
Genre: All Canon Classes plus a few mod classes, DOWNLOAD THE HEIR CLASS MOD ITS INCREDIBLY AMAZING, F/F, F/M, Flagellant and MAA are with Reynauld but don't actually arrive until later, M/M, Mainly Marvin Seo and Carnifex classes, Man-at-Arms incredibly tired, Robin belongs to cynthpop on tumblr, Rose belongs to shogoakuji on tumblr, The character death tag is because this is Darkest Dungeon, give him a hug
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-22
Updated: 2019-06-21
Packaged: 2020-05-16 06:09:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19312216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/XDTAthens/pseuds/XDTAthens
Summary: Rose had seen it all. She truly had.Corrupted humans, eldritch abominations, walking fish-people.The adventurers who come to help her clear her family's name are eccentric at best and downright sadistic at worst, every expedition into the corrupted lands invariably leads to the loss of her own sanity, and to top it off, her brother becomes possessed by the spirit of her dead grandfather and starts spouting drivel left and right.Thus begins the long campaign. She does not know what she is expecting to find, but redemption is certainly not one of them.The price of greed will invariably be paid.





	Blood in the Water

Rose thought she had seen it all. Technically speaking, she had.

The truths of the world were revealed to her at a young age by those who worshipped The Thing, long before her grandfather had even thought about the consequences of his actions.

Every possible outcome. Every equation, every scenario. Whispers in her mind, a constant reminder of the terrible truth she now knew. Among the many, many names she had come to know, Reynauld and Dismas had been etched into her brain over and over.

The Harbingers. They will deliver us.

Rose dreaded the day she would meet them.

After escaping the cultists, she had actually done quite a good job of convincing herself of the lie. The High Priestess had simply been toying with her mind.

Oh, how she wished it were true. 

Shortly after reuniting with her brother Robin, Rose had received a bloodsoaked letter, the familiar coat of arms on the wax seal sending a chill down her spine.

Nothing had been the same since then. Their grandfather’s mistakes haunted both of them until they could stomach it no more and gave in -- not for him. No, it was to stave off eternal damnation.

The twins had stumbled along the path to the Hamlet, the stagecoach only stopping once when the twins insisted on a good night’s sleep -- and finding hired help.

The offer was terrible, she knew. “Hey, come fight for us to help reclaim this terrible land from unspeakable horrors!”

Nobody had really even raised an eyebrow until they mentioned the Brigand infestation, and only then did Rose realize she had neglected to read the room. A massive, shirtless bandit covered in scars of all kind stood up from his table. His face was as grotesque as his body was robust; yellow, rotting teeth bared in a predatory grin as the man hefted a whip over his shoulder, flintlock in hand.

“Knew ‘er were something off about you lot.” His voice was deep, gravelly, and so, so unpleasant. Rose’s eyes narrowed and she backed up a bit, clutching her tomes tight. Oh, she wouldn’t run. Of course not. This was her land, and she would show them. 

Several patrons began exiting the bar, leaving only the bandits, a group of veteran templars, the twins, and the bartender.

It was gearing up to be a large fight, but neither Rose nor Robin would back down. Their grandfather hadn’t been the only powerful man in the family; no, power ran through their veins, the kind of power that could only be commanded through grace, wealth… and force.

As the lines were drawn, there was finally a great sigh from the table of templars, drawing all eyes to the only crusader with his helmet still on. Rose immediately took note of his armor. Covered in notches and scratches, it was obvious that the man had seen lots of battle, so much so that he didn’t even bother to oil up the armor or leather anymore. He wore no cross either, so it was impossible to tell his rank, but the way the other crusaders seemed to almost revere him gave her a feeling he was highly respected. A knight commander, perhaps?

“G-Grand Marshal Reynauld, milord…” One squire squeaked and Rose’s blood ran cold. If anyone noticed her sudden shift in demeanor they did not show it. All eyes were instead simply on the Crusader in front of them. “Milord, please sit down! There is no need to get involved. We are expected back at the abbey by next morrow!” 

Even without words or a visible face, the way the crusader’s head snapped back to his squire was enough to make the man collapse in panic.

Grand Marshal. A Grand fucking Marshal. Essentially the man had no superiors except for the Light itself.

“Prior Somnus, please control young Mayhew, else thou shall find young Mayhew sent back to the Grand Master and deemed unfit to join our Holy Order. And has thou forgotten just how Holy our purpose is? Who do we serve, Prior Somnus?”

A grizzled, older gentleman who had removed his helm let out a deep sigh, evidently the only sane man of the four man group. Reynauld narrowed his eyes and turned to the last member, a bright eyed young man.

“Knight-Captain Jovic, who do we serve?”

In response, the young man shot from his feet, pumping a fist into the air. “We serve the Light!”

“And who are the enemies of the Light?”

“All those who seek to spread corruption and darkness!”

“And what do we do to enemies of the Light?”

“WE SEND THEM SCREAMING BACK INTO HELL! DEATH TO THE UNHOLY! GLORY TO THE LIGHT!” 

Prior Somnus, evidently getting what was going to happen, stood and affixed his shield to his brace, grabbing a shortsword from underneath the table.

Jovic, for his part, had taken up a flail and seemed to be warming up his wrists. 

The Squire squeaked and grabbed a measly pair of axes from beneath the table before Reynauld planted a banner in front of himself and brandished his magnificent longsword.

“We are the Light, and we do not take kindly to bandits.”

The lines that had already been established were now increasing; though neither Robin nor Rose were slouches when it came to combat, knowing they had the strength of 4 Crusaders (or perhaps 3 and a half, given the squire’s apparent lack of experience) was enough to bolster their confidence.

The brigands seemed to watch on in confusion, disgust, and finally anger.

The big bastard with the whip spit on the already dirt-covered floor and his gaze fell upon the crusaders. “Mmm… ye shoulda listen’d te yer runt, soldier boy. Lambs to the slaughter.” A devious smile lit up his face and he raised his whip into the air; Rose’s eyes were already scanning for a weakness, even as she saw the man’s free hand reach for his flintlock.

It turned out there was no need. Surprises kept popping up all over the place, and the big bastard’s weapons hit the floor with a surprised gurgle and screech, before he unceremoniously keened over onto the floor, the impact shaking several tables.

In a flash, several more bandits were dispatched, and it was only then that the group noticed the man who had been hiding in the shadows; another brigand by the looks of it, though he did not wear the tattered clothes or uniform colors that generally identified a brigand gang member. The fight had completely ended before it even began and his steely eyes fell upon the group.

“So. You lot are trying to bring order to this place?” His voice was gruff and borderline hostile, even as he polished his blade and put it back in its sheath.

“That is the idea, good sir.” Robin’s voice sounded from near Rose and she had to stop herself from jumping. She had gotten so lost in the idea of the coming battle, she forgot about Robin’s uncanny ability to slink back into the shadows.

“I’m not good, and I’m not a sir. Just a man trying to do some good ‘fore he kicks it.” His eyes fell upon the group of crusaders, lingering on the Marshal, Reynauld, for a moment. Likely trying to gauge his reaction. For his part, Reynauld didn’t even tense up, simply sheathing his broadsword. “Hope you lot don’t mind, but I never really was on the right side of the law. If you’ve got enough gold to keep the constable away, I’m fine.”

Before Rose could even speak, Reynauld answered. “Fear not. Our purpose is just and our means are righteous. None of us are truly free of sin. As soon as we get out of here, the path to redemption may begin.”

“Redemption, huh?” The brigand’s eyes flickered back over to the twins before he sighed. “Fine. Looks like these two could use a bodyguard anyway.”

Rose opened her mouth to protest. “Now, hold on a moment, we haven’t even--”

“Properly introduced yourselves? You’re right about that, at least. Awful rude of you.” The brigand cut her off and she found her patience tasted, brilliant eyes narrowing.

“I see your tongue is as sharp as your blade. That is to say, not at all. I am Rose Darkest, and this is my brother, Robin. We are the heirs to the estate and it is our ancestral duty to wipe out all the vermin plaguing this land.”

“Dismas. And I’ll have you know my blade is sharp enough, thank you.”

The group of crusaders visibly stiffened at the mention of his name and three of them turned to look at the Reynauld. “I… was your mother, religious, good si… ah, stranger?” Huh. The first thing to pierce through Reynauld’s stoicity was a simple name.

“Not quite, but she always knew I’d be a thief. I suppose yours was religious, then? Read the Book of Verses every day to you and told you that you were destined to die amongst thieves?” The brigand’s tone was almost mocking, but if Reynauld took offense, he did not show it. Instead the templar turned his head to the twins.

“Your stagecoach… I’m supposing it only has room for four?”

The twins nodded and Reynauld took a moment before turning to his unit.

“Somnus, Mayhew, Jovic. Return to the abbey. Inform them of the development, and ask them to send all who claim to serve the Light. Worry not, Jovic, you may spill unholy blood soon.” Somnus simply shook his head and sighed at the order.

“Fine. But I’m grabbing my best mace on the way, and my lucky eyepatch.”

Rose was thoroughly annoyed at the fact that she seemed to have only recruited an overzealous leader and a witty, secluded loner, but they were better than nothing.

“Off to the old road, then, I suppose.”


End file.
